Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Ltd’s (Iffco’s) foray into the power sector with a planned 1,320-Mw coal pithead-based unit in Sarguja district of Chhattisgarh has failed to get the necessary environmental and forest clearances.
“The ministry of environment has told us this (proposed coal mining area) comes under the government’s no-go area,” managing director U S Awasthi told Business Standard. These are areas where the ministry would not grant forest clearances.
“Though, a group of ministers is looking into the matter... we have given our proposal to the (environment) ministry on how much of the area falls under forest lands and the number of trees to be cut,” said Awasthi.
Besides the ministry of environment, the locals there have also been protesting against the project location. Iffco had planned this Rs 7,500-crore investment under the government’s Ultra Mega Power Project scheme.
“We have also told the environment ministry of the planned increase in the plantation and about our rehabilitation strategy there. However, we do not plan to relocate the project anywhere else. In case we do not obtain the necessary approvals, we would have no other option but to shelve it,” Awasthi added.
This was Iffco’s first such initiative into the power sector in collaboration with the Chhattisgarh State Electricity Board.
The new entity, called Iffco Chhattisgarh Power Ltd (ICPL), was formed on January 2006. Commercial operation was to have started in 2012-13, but this seems unlikely now. ICPL had formed a joint venture entity, called CMDC IPCL Coal Ltd, with Chhattisgarh Mineral Development Corporation to develop the coal block.
